International Economic Development Council’s 2013 Annual Conference to Focus on Transforming Economies

International Economic Development Council

International Economic Development Council’s 2013 Annual Conference to Focus on Transforming Economies

Transformation, Innovation, Reinvention: Creating Tomorrow’s Economy Today

The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) will hold its Annual Conference from October 6-9, 2013 in Philadelphia, PA.

The landscape of the economic development profession continues to transform rapidly, leaving many economic developers with more questions than answers.

In an uncertain world, how does your community leverage its existing assets to attract and develop new business?

95 percent of the world's consumers live outside of the United States. With potential customers in every corner of the globe, what are economic developers doing to help businesses in their communities to expand into emerging markets?

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is up for grabs all over the world. Which industries are hot? What do you need to do to help global businesses invest in your community?

From food trucks to urban farms, many emerging forms of new enterprise are place-based. What can economic developers do to help support small local businesses and entrepreneurs? How can communities find innovative ways to facilitate greater investment in local economies?

Finally, what is the role of the economic developer in a shifting economic landscape? How does the profession not only grapple with change - but embrace it?

All of these topics and more will be addressed at the 2013 IEDC Annual Conference. With four session tracks, the Annual Conference promises to be full of new perspectives and ideas for you to take home to your community.

Sessions in the Transforming Economies Track Include:

Creating and Scaling-up Foreign Direct Investments: Strategies for Your EDO
Bringing the Global Economy to My City: Working with Special Economic Zones
Transforming Economies: Economic Development 21.0
CDFIs to Crowdfunding: Tools for Community Investment
Helping Companies Decide to Manufacture Locally: Reshoring and the Total Cost of Ownership
From Grassroots to Green Shoots: Building the Next Great Startup City
Collective Strength: Public-Private Partnerships Increase Non-Profits' ROI
The Multiplier: Invigorating Your Community through Local Ownership
Leveraging Entrepreneurial Networks to Encourage Small Business Success
Reaching Out: Bringing Small Businesses into International Markets
Getting the Most out of Local Food: Establishing a Foodshed Innovation Center
Dateline Sustainability: Putting the Triple Bottom Line to Work
Creating Jobs in Value-Added Agriculture

Confirmed Speakers Include:

Simon Galpin, Director-General, Investment Promotion, President, World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA), Invest Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Jean-Paul Gauthier, Deputy Secretary General and Acting Vice President, World Economic Processing Zones Association, Deal, Kent, United Kingdom
Ioanna T. Morfessis, PhD, HLM, President & Chief Strategist, IO.INC, Phoenix, AZ
Stuart Rogel, President & CEO, Tampa Bay Partnership, Tampa, FL
Sandra Watson, President & CEO, Arizona Commerce Authority, Phoenix, AZ
Harry Moser, President & Founder, Reshoring Initiative, Kildeer, IL
Rebekah Hutton, Director of Research and Government Relations, Manufacturing Skill Standards Council, Alexandria, VA
John Grady, President, Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, Philadelphia, PA
Alan Greenberger, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, City of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Stephan Duncan, Account Director, Development Counsellors International, Denver, CO
Andy Curtis, Founding Partner & Director, Global Innovation Partners, LTD, Sheffield, England, United Kingdom
Paula Sorrell, Managing Director, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Lansing, MI
Maria Meyers, Network Builder, US SourceLink, University of Missouri, Kansas City, MO
Cameron Cushman, Manager of Entrepreneurship, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Kansas City, MO
Stephen Radley, President & CEO, NetWork Kansas, Kansas Center for Entrepreneurship, Wichita, KS
Rick Smyre, President, Center for Communities of the Future, Gastonia, NC
Chris J. Manheim, CEcD, MA, President, Manheim Solutions, Inc., Elgin, IL
Patrick Dine, Founder & CEO, PSD Global, Washington, DC
Nitin Pangam, CEO, Maeflower Consulting, Pune, India
Della G. Rucker, CEcD, AICP, Principal, Wise Economy Workshop & New World Public Engagement, Cincinnati, OH
Andre N. Pettigrew, Executive Director, Clean Economy Solutions, Washington, DC
Cathy Polasky, Director, Economic Policy & Development, City of Minneapolis, Minneapolis, MN

Be sure to check back throughout the summer for new speakers confirmed in all four Annual Conference tracks. View a full list of speakers at the 2013 IEDC Annual Conference.